We live in the most interesting, frustrating and scary times in my 42 years on this planet. We can't work, shop, congregate, travel or do many other normal everyday activities due to the outbreak of the corona virus and restrictions put in place to flatten the curve. Personally the single biggest impact on my life is participation in the 12-step fellowships to continue my recovery journey. But luckily, I found recovery 8.5 years ago, have a god, tons of recovery friends and a program that helps me stay sane, sober and safe regardless of lack of making a meeting.
But what about the newly sober recovering alcoholic addict, where the initial connection with those that have walked the path is so vitally important? What does the person just walking out of a treatment or detox center do, when the suggestion has always been "make a meeting the day you leave"? There are no meetings to make-in person anyway. Luckily, technology has come a very long way and 12-step fellowships have been able to quickly adapt to online video conference meetings using smartphones and computers. It may not be the perfect substitute but it does have its benefits as well. There are now literally meetings around the clock, every day, from all over the world. I've been in my homegroup meeting with guys from around the country that started their personal journey to recovery in Hoboken, NJ, and have since moved and have been able to reconnect from their living rooms! Pretty cool stuff. They're holding conferences and weekend "retreats" that anyone can attend and hear world class experience strength and hope from the comfort of our living rooms!
We can also "meet" and begin step work in the same fashion, and with all the extra time everyone seems to have because of this, maybe we can power through stepwork in a time frame that normally might not be possible in normal times.
In recovery, we need to meet life on life's terms and this is life's terms right now. I don't like it any more than the next person but we learn to make use of what we can to achieve permanent sobriety by any means necessary. What are the alternatives anyway-a life of alcoholism/addiction and misery-the choice should be clear! We can recovery no matter what!
Helpful links to connect to recovery are here:
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